A right-hand top order batsman, Asad Shafiq made his international debut in 2010, and he impressed immediately with a half-century in an ODI on the tour to England in 2010. A Test call-up followed later that year, and Shafiq justified that call-up by scoring 61 on debut against South Africa in Abu Dhabi.

Since then, he has been reasonably consistent as a Test batsman, showing spunk and flair in the middle order. Against Bangladesh in 2011 he scored his maiden Test century, but against South Africa in 2013 he bettered that, scoring a Test hundred in tough conditions in Cape Town: coming in to bat at 33 for 4, he added 219 with Younis Khan and scored 111 against an attack that included Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.

A product of the Karachi tape ball circuit, Shafiq was first noticed when he stormed the first-class scene in his debut season in 2007-08, scoring a double-hundred. He fell short of thousand runs that season, but attained the milestone two seasons later, when he scored 1244 runs in 12 games at 49.76. He made an impact as a limited-overs player in 2008-09, when he scored 379 runs in seven games at 54.14. The national selectors had earmarked him as one for the future in meetings and he was rewarded him with a call-up for the Asia Cup in 2010.ESPNcricinfo Staff